Falling Star
by yamiishot
Summary: Megatron has pushed Starscream too far this time, and the Seeker is missing. What happened? Visit my DA page about this story through my profile to find the link to the prequel by Athello. Genre/rating may change in future, be warned.
1. Megatron

Megatron's livid optics narrowed. "What do you _mean_, you can't find him?" He hissed, pointed fingers tightening their grip on the drone's throat. Plating became dented and warped under the steely grip and the drone flailed as important components became damaged. The drone squealed in protest at the rough treatment. Disgusted, Megatron threw down the damaged drone and turned to Soundwave. "He's a flightless Seeker! He couldn't have gotten off the ship! _Find_._ Him_."

Without a word, the spy master inclined his masked helm and stalked away. The damaged drone got to his feet, static coming from his vocaliser.

Megatron glared at it. "Get that repaired. And send Knockout when he's done."

The drone gave a squawk of static in acknowledgment and fled the bridge.

The warlord was left alone with his thoughts. They were focused firmly on Starscream, and wherever the treacherous slagger had vanished to this time. The last punishment given to the Seeker had been the shredding of his beloved wings. Grounding his Air Commander was a risky thing but considering how far Starscream had pushed him with the last attempt on his function, it was more than fitting.

But now Starscream was missing, something he hadn't expected. Knockout had been the one placed in charge of the damaged Seeker, clearly he'd failed to manage to sparkling-sit the damaged mech.

A grounded Seeker was a pitiful thing. They lived for the sky, to soar through it, and to have it taken from them was to drive them to the edge of insanity. To remove a Seeker's wings was to condemn it to a life on the ground, and such a thing often ended badly. That had been why he'd wanted Starscream watched so closely, to avoid the risk of him escaping and harming himself in a panicked frenzy.

Steps approaching his position by the console caught his attention, and he was drawn out of his thoughts. The drone he'd sent to get Knockout was clearly deaf. The mech approaching wasn't the red medic, but instead his partner, Breakdown. All fixed up after that unfortunate run in with the humans, it seemed.

Breakdown paused a little distance before him, dropping into a stiff bow. "My Lord, Knockout is…unavailable." He said with a wince, as if expecting to be struck.

Megatron's hands curled into fists, displeasure growing. "Where is he? He had his orders, why were they not followed?"

"He was – is – racing, my lord. With the humans." Megatron watched him wince again. Breakdown didn't seem to take pleasure from ratting out his partner, but the fear of Megatron still made him do it.

"And where," Megatron growled, leaning in close to the shorter mech, optics menacing, "were you?"

"My lord?" A look of confusion flashed across Breakdown's red face.

"In his absence, those in the ward are in your care. Where. Were. You." The look on Megatron's face promised intense pain if the excuse for letting Starscream escape was not a good one.

Breakdown lowered his optics to the floor, anything other than looking at his master. "Patrol duty, sir." Patrol duty was generally reserved for the drones, but since Breakdown had been involved with M.E.C.H. the hammer wielding Decepticon had taken to patrolling, clearly hoping to meet them again and crush every single one of the insects.

Megatron straightened up, gritting his denta together. He couldn't blame Breakdown for this when he had been doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing. "Get out of my sight. Find him, or you and your partner will suffer."

Breakdown bowed again and left to join the search party trawling through the ship in search of the Seeker.

The warlord almost didn't notice Soundwave coming to stand by his side after a few more moments of thought. The communications officer stood silently until Megatron looked at him expectantly. "Soundwave, report." He ordered, turning to face his spy.

Soundwave straightened slightly, lifting his masked face for Megatron to see. There was a flicker over the screen then footage from a security sensor on the top flight deck appeared. As the warlord watched, Starscream appeared, de-winged and looking deranged, muttering to himself. Something seemed to change within the Seeker when the wind touched his form and the streamlined form straightened instead of gripping the wall for support.

Megatron hissed, clawed fingers digging into the metal of his palm. "Starscream, don't be so foolish…" he muttered, but it was too late. As he watched the pre-recorded footage, Starscream too off at a run, straight for the edge of the ship's landing platform. It was a sheer drop to the ground below…A frail form like Starscream's would never be able to survive it.

The Seeker launched himself off the platform, transforming at the last moment and activating his thrusters. The wingless F-16 fell fast, nosecone pointing straight at the ground. Starscream disappeared from view, the sensor no long able to track him. Soundwave cut off the footage.

Megatron exhaled through his vents and rubbed a servo over his optics. "Starscream…" He felt tired then, the footage of his Second throwing himself to his death affecting him more than he would have thought possible. He hadn't intended on Starscream dying… This would set back his plans for quite some time. He was going to have to appoint a new Second, and a new Air Commander. "Soundwave."

The spy stared mutely at his Lord.

"Time of offlining?"

The footage cropped up again, zooming in on the time stamp in the corner.

Megatron read off the time. "Twelve fifty-two a.m., local time…Inform the crew, and see about contacting his trine. This far apart, the bond may be too weak between them to properly feel the death of one of them. Inform Thundercracker he's now Air Commander, and he and Skywarp should make their way here. If they can replace Starscream, then have it done. Knockout is to be put in the brig the moment he returns."

Soundwave nodded mutely and turned away to carry out his orders.

"Oh, and Soundwave."

The spy paused.

"Congratulations on your promotion to Second in Command."

Soundwave appeared to look back at his Lord for just a moment, nodding once again and taking his leave.

-0-

Optimus Prime had been tracing an energon signal for a while now, cautious since Decepticons had been spotted in the area previously. He was on his own, Ratchet in base and the others out with their charges.

He almost stumbled over the source of the energon reading, spark freezing in his chamber. It was hard to tell through the wreck, the smoke and fire, and the energon, but he knew what he was looking at; or rather, who. Starscream.

He dropped to one knee beside the pitiful ruin of the once proud Seeker, wincing when he saw the missing wings. Whatever had happened to Starscream, the Seeker was lucky to have survived. Optimus could just see the flickering of a spark deep within the wreckage.

Now he had a tough call to make. Should he leave the Seeker to perish, or should he call Ratchet for aid?

His spark rejected the first option even as he thought of it. He could not in good conscience leave Starscream like this, nor could he perform a mercy killing.

The Prime activated his comlink to base. "Optimus to base. I need a groundbridge to my location…and a medic."


	2. Skywarp

Skywarp stared up at Thundercracker, the disbelief he was feeling clear both in his optics and through the bond they shared as part of a trine. "He's lying," he whispered, vocaliser crackling with static. "Starscream – he wouldn't, he couldn't do that – not to us!" He gripped the metal of the seat he was perched upon, fingers denting it slightly. "We'd know! We'd _feel_ it, TC!"

Thundercracker knelt before the youngest of them, servos heavy on the younger Seeker's shoulders. "'Warp, I'm sorry…but he's gone. I saw the recording." He had hoped he would never have to see one of their own like that, driven mad by the loss of their wings, the very thing that made them superior, that gave them a freedom they were sparked to crave. "He couldn't have survived that, not without -" He grimaced. "Not without his wings…It's just us now." The look on Skywarp's face at those words chilled him to the core.

"No. No it isn't." Skywarp pushed his trinemate away, standing up. "I don't care what you think, or what Megatron thinks he knows, or what anyone else thinks! Starscream isn't dead, this trine isn't broken, and Star will come back for us!"

-0-

They arrived on the mud-ball known as Earth in the middle of a thunderstorm. Thundercracker was immediately enthralled with the flying conditions and spent the entire storm spinning about in the clouds, responding to the loud booms of thunder with cracks of his own. Skywarp flew above the clouds impatiently, waiting for his remaining trinemate to get over his excitement. Usually Skywarp would not have hesitated to join in the fun, but all he wanted to do was get to Megatron and hear his leader's excuse for Starscream's fate, then he had his own investigation to carry out. He was going to find Starscream, even if he had to do it on his own.

Even though he had no idea of where to begin or what to look for, Skywarp sighed to himself. He wasn't the brightest in the trine; he knew that. Starscream had been their smartest, their Bright Star. With Starscream's intelligence, it would have been easy to find someone missing.

Skywarp found himself wishing that he'd been the one to take Starscream's punishment in his place. Starscream didn't deserve to suffer like that by himself, trineless, wingless, grounded and insane.

Finally, Thundercracker's storm finished, and the black Seeker was shaken from his thoughts when his partner sped past him. He could feel the other's delight about this new world through their bond, and though he himself was still depressed, he managed to reciprocate some of the pleasure at their new home for the moment.

-0-

Skywarp knelt before their Master, helm bowed and optics to the floor. He received a brief welcome before Megatron's focus fell on Thundercracker. Skywarp shuffled back out of the way, standing to one side to watch as Thundercracker received the title that was rightfully Starscream's.

Outwardly, when he looked at Thundercracker, he saw a mech who looked proud to accept the title and the responsibilities that came with it. Inwardly, through the bond they shared, he could feel Thundercracker's reluctance to accept it, his self-doubt that he would be able to perform as required.

As he blocked out the drone of Thundercracker taking his new oath to Megatron, Skywarp's optics were drawn to Soundwave. The spy master could have been looking anywhere but for some reason Skywarp was sure that blank gaze was fixed on Thundercracker. Not surprising, since TC was getting a position that was rivalling in command power to Soundwave's newest promotion to Second in Command. Did Soundwave view his trinemate as a threat? Starscream and Soundwave had always been the best of rivals in Skywarp's opinion; was that now going to change to Thundercracker and Soundwave? He'd have to keep an eye on that.

Almost as if the spy master had heard his thoughts, Skywarp saw the masked helm twitch in his direction. He shivered when that sightless gaze focused on him. Soundwave was too damn creepy in his opinion. Was he power hungry? Had he manipulated the grounded Starscream into throwing himself over the side of the ship to gain his position?

Skywarp bit back that thought. He was getting ahead of himself, imagining things. Soundwave was just… well; whatever he was he probably hadn't pushed Starscream over the edge of the ship for a new position. Soundwave was the subtle kind. If anything, he might have just 'nudged' Starscream towards the edge of insanity with those telepathic powers of his.

Skywarp's optics widened fractionally in alarm. What if he had?

Before he could dwell any more on the disturbing thought, Thundercracker was rising from his kneeling position before Lord Megatron and bowing instead. The ceremony was over, and through the bond he shared with the new Air Commander, he could feel how proud Thundercracker was to be given this chance. Skywarp felt guilty for having spent the entire ceremony thinking about Starscream's disappearance, hiding it from the other Seeker. He didn't want to spoil Thundercracker's moment to shine.

"Rise, Skywarp. You are dismissed." Megatron's voice made him turn his attention to their Leader and he automatically looked to Thundercracker as he stood, expecting him to follow. Thundercracker remained by Megatron's side.

Skywarp could take a hint. He turned his back on them and left Thundercracker with the other mechs in command. He knew where he wasn't wanted.

-0-

One Earth year later, and Skywarp's blind faith in Starscream's return had not yet been rewarded. Thundercracker had proven himself a competent Air Commander in the time since his promotion to the position, not quite commanding the same level of respect from the Seekers that Starscream had. He seemed to garner more respect from the rest of the Decepticons over all however, something that their trine leader had never managed.

Skywarp was out on his own, scouting around for energon deposits. As he flew, his scanners were running constantly in the search for hidden veins of the life-giving fuel. He'd become used to flying on his own over the past year since Thundercracker was too busy to fly with him. In the past, Starscream had still made time for his trine, but it seemed TC wasn't handling his time the same way. At least when Starscream had been too busy to fly, Skywarp had still had Thundercracker. Now he was lucky if he had Slipstream by his side. The femme Seeker had been brought in to fill the gap in the Command Trine and Skywarp found her rather pleasant company if not the company he would have preferred.

He swung downward over a particularly dusty looking area, rock outcroppings everywhere. Skywarp flew low between two of them and spotted a looming crevice, the sides cutting into the ground quite beautifully. Technically it was still in the area he was supposed to be scouting, and he hadn't scanned the crevice yet. Oh it was so tempting to dive down there and test his flying skills against the local terrain. He kicked his thrusters higher and sped towards the challenge, more than convinced that he could best what this little rock of a planet had to offer.

He'd barely adjusted his wings to let him fly down into the fracture in the earth when a blast from the past slammed into his spark. With a cry of shock, he veered off to one side and transformed, landing in a less than graceful manner. Skidding to a stop, hands and knees in the dirt, Skywarp gripped at his chest plates with one hand while the other dug into the dust.

He'd felt it, for a moment, for just one blissful moment he felt his missing trinemate's spark. But just as quickly as it had come, the connection faded, like it was being hidden. "Starscream…" Starscream was still alive. Skywarp's resolve hardened. Starscream was out there, and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to do everything in his power to get him back from wherever he was, from whoever was keeping them apart.

Skywarp got to his feet, staring around him. There were no clues here, at least none in sight. Starscream couldn't be too far away however. He saved the co-ordinates. For now, he had a job to do or Megatron would have his head. He transformed and took to the skies once more; spark beating harder than before as he opened a com link to Thundercracker.

"TC? I found him."


	3. Optimus Prime

When he'd found the wreck of a Seeker lying in a ditch on his energon patrol, Optimus Prime's first thought had been to leave him there. The Seeker might have been in a bad way, but the badly damaged alt mode configuration was still recognisable as the Second in Command of the Decepticon war machine. That Starscream had been alone as he lay offlining slowly and painfully had given him pause for thought. Where was Megatron? Not even a drone was present to collect the commander and take him back for repairs. Starscream…had been abandoned.

He'd knelt beside the damaged mech, refraining from touching him for fear of damaging him more though he couldn't see how he could make this situation worse. The flicking of a spark had caught his attention. He could see how weak it was, how it tried to cling to life. He knew then that his decision had been made for him.

Optimus put in a commlink call to Ratchet, and mere moments later the medic was stepping through a groundbridge to his right. The medic paused when he saw the scrap heap that was Starscream.

"You're…kidding. Right, Optimus?" He looked from wreck to Prime, as though he couldn't quite believe his optics. "You want me to fix a Decepticon? I'm not saying I won't do it, Optimus-" Ratchet added hurriedly when he saw the expression on Optimus' face. "-I just want a good reason before I fix up the second biggest threat to us."

"He has been abandoned, Ratchet," Optimus said, sounding rather grave. "And he will perish without immediate attention. No one is coming for him, and I will not idly stand by while he dies. We could not call ourselves Autobots if we allowed this to happen."

Ratchet sighed but knelt by the mess that was now his new patient. "I can't do much for him here," he warned Optimus. I'll do what I can to stabilise him but then I'll need you to lift him through the groundbridge as quickly as you can move, got it?"

Optimus nodded without a word of argument, mostly left to his own thoughts as Ratchet began to cut away sections of the jet's plating to get to the delicate systems underneath. The glimpse he'd gotten earlier of the steadily weakening spark had belied the gravity of the Seeker's health. When Ratchet peeled back the covering of Starscream's spark, the glowing orb within had dimed to dangerous levels. Ratchet swore softly at the sight, spurred into a flurry of activity. Black servos flitted over the frame, the fingertips transforming into tiny medicals tools and back again so quickly Optimus couldn't identify them. What he could identify was the slightly stronger pulse of Starscream's spark after a tense moment of silent motion. Ratchet leaned back, venting heavily.

"Will he survive the trip back to base?" Optimus asked quietly, almost afraid of the answer.

Ratchet looked up at him, meeting his optics. "He should. My patches will hold or the moment but we'll need to be quick." He directed the Prime to slide his arms under Starscream's damaged form just so. Optimus gathered Starscream to him and rose slowly.

Both the Autobots winced when pieces clattered to the ground beneath them, splashing into small puddles of energon under where Starscream had lain. Ratchet knelt to gather the fragments as Optimus made his way to the open groundbridge. He stepped through the turquoise portal, arriving back in base to find six faces staring at him.

They glanced down at the wreck in his arms then back up to Prime.

Six voices exploded into furious conversation. He only caught a few words.

"-you outta your fragging mind? He could-"

"-can't believe you brought him back here of all places-"

"-this really a good idea? I mean-"

Optimus ignored their protests and walked past them, dripping an energon trail as he moved through the base to one of the private rooms Ratchet had set up for emergencies. The main area beside the bridge was no place to perform surgeries, especially in front of the human children and it was not as if they didn't have room to spare inside the silo. Inside, he laid Starscream's battered form on the medical slab gently. Ratchet only took a moment longer to appear, arms full of pieces. He looked at them as Ratchet laid them out on a nearby work bench beside all his tools.

"I know what you're wondering," Ratchet said quietly. "His wings aren't there. They've been ripped off." Optimus flinched at the bluntness of that statement as the medic turned his attention to the Seeker's leaking lines. He began to patch as much as he could with Starscream trapped in his flight mode. "It's a miracle he's even still alive. This…this isn't going to be an easy job, Optimus."

"How long?"

"I can't give an exact-"

"How _long_, Ratchet?" he asked again, more firmly this time.

"…At least a human year. Maybe more for the wings. I don't know." The medic heaved a sigh, unable to meet his optics. "I just don't have the materials to do it any quicker. If we have more energon, more parts, more of this, more of that…"

"Can you do it?" the Prime asked quietly.

"…Optimus, if I can send a ground bridge to another dimension, I can fix a Seeker who thought offing himself would give him back his wings. I just can't do it as fast," Ratchet huffed. "I haven't dealt with Seeker frame-types in a long time, that's all. And again, resources are a problem."

The Prime began to speak again but Ratchet interrupted him, already knowing what he was going to ask. He knew Optimus well after all.

"No, you can't help. The best thing you can do is go hunt down some energon for us. Oh, and explain to those children out there why you brought home a stray Decepticon. They're going to want answers."

Optimus sighed heavily and made his exit, leaving Ratchet alone with Starscream. Once again, voices rose to meet him as he entered the main room of the base. The voices got continually louder as he stood in the middle of the room, each battling to be heard over the top of the others.

"QUIET!" Two pairs of eyes and four pairs of optics stared at the human female who'd cried out. "I can't even hear myself think and you think he can hear anybody talking? Of course he can't!"

"Thank you, Miko," Optimus rumbled, interrupting her before she could continue. He held up a hand to stem the flow of questions before it began once more. "I understand that you all have questions about our guest and what he is doing here. First, know that he was abandoned. No help was coming for him; no one came his aid when he needed it most." He looked around at his Autobots and their human friends. "He was left to perish once his wings had been stripped from his chassis. To have left him to offline, alone and painfully, is not something I could have done. Ask yourselves this before you judge my actions: would you be able to abandon another of your kind when he has already lost everything? When you are his only hope of recovery, would you be able to walk away and leave him to die in agony?"

"When that 'him' is a Decepticon, yes, I would, Optimus," Arcee spoke up, voice cold. "You can't seriously think that he'll join us because you saved his life, can you?"

The Prime looked down at her, his disappointment in her clear on his face. "Everyone deserves a second chance, Arcee. Without the hope that we can change for the better, then we have little hope for lasting peace."

"But what if he wakes up and decides to attack you?" Jack spoke up from near Arcee's leg. Optimus had seen them growing closer by the day, now it seemed they stood firm together on some of the same viewpoints.

"Then we will deal with it when the time comes. Rest assured, Jack, we will not give Starscream the chance to attack us." The Seeker's weapons would be removed by Ratchet before that ever became a problem. "If there are any more questions-" A few hands were raised. "-that do not involve Starscream's presence here for the time being?" Almost all the hands fell back to their owner's sides. Except one.

"What happened to him?" Rafael asked quietly.

Optimus crouched, looking down at the little human that reminded him so much of both Ratchet and Bumblebee. This close, Rafael had to strain less to look up at the Prime. "I believe that someone stripped him of his wings. From what Ratchet has said, Starscream did not take such a loss well. It's likely he leapt from the Nemesis in a delusional state of mind, crashing into the ground below." He didn't miss how each of the humans winced at the thought. They understood it seemed. He looked to Arcee, hoping to see some compassion there but her face was blank. She hid her own emotions better than he did some days.

"Delusional? Are you saying Starscream's lost it?" Optimus' attention was drawn to Jack as the human spoke up, looking rather worried as he did so.

"A Seeker does not suffer the loss of their wings lightly. To you, it would be as if you suffered from claustrophobia and were sealed in a tight, dark space. The longer you are in there, the smaller the space becomes and the more you suffer."

"Wow, that – that sounds horrible," Miko admitted, leaning back against Bulkhead foot. "So you guys are, what, looking to rehabilitate Starscream? Make him a good guy, with the shiny blue eyes and everything?" She wiggled her fingers at her own eyes as she spoke.

"We would not modify the colour of his eyes, no Miko." Granted it was actually possible but it wasn't a procedure Ratchet would perform during his rebuilding of Starscream. "But if it is possible, yes. We would prefer to aid Starscream and to allow him to join our cause."

"I think you've lost your mind, Optimus." Arcee shook her head. "I'm sorry, but no Decepticon ever changes. You're getting your hopes up and he's just going to cut them to ribbons when he wakes up as psychotic as ever." Her personal views voiced, she transformed and rolled to Jack's side. The human looked up at Optimus and offered an apologetic shrug before he climbed onto his guardian's seat. He put on the helmet she usually kept subspaced for him and almost before he'd had the chance to grip her handlebars she sped off out of the base.

Optimus sighed softly, so quietly that the others probably didn't pick up on it. "Are there any other objections to my actions today?" he asked those left with him, resuming standing tall. Silence met his words, Miko looking as though she honestly didn't mind Starscream's presence while Bulkhead seemed mildly uncomfortable. Bumblebee and Raf looked at each other and shrugged, movements eerily similar. "Then I suggest that you return to your homes for the night."

Miko groaned but got off Bulkhead's foot so he could transform into her favourite ride home. Raf climbed into Bumblebee's alt mode without a word of objection, though he did look back at Optimus and say quietly to the Prime, "I think it's a good thing you're giving him a chance. You could have just killed him. It's what Megatron would have done. But you didn't, you're better than he is." With his opinions voiced, Raf leaned back in Bumblebee and let his yellow friend take him home, following Bulkhead out the base.

Optimus watched them leave in silence, left to his own thoughts.

-0-

It had been September when they'd brought Starscream back to the base. Now it was nearing the middle of December and Optimus had awoken one morning to find the children covering the base in green and red decorations. He fingered a wreath Miko had handed him, asking the Prime to hang it above Starscream's medical berth. When he asked why, she just smiled. "If he wakes up, then he shouldn't have to miss out on Christmas." He watched her hurry off to decorate a giant tree Bulkhead had managed to uproot from…somewhere (he suspected the groundbridge had been used but doubtless Ratchet would deny that he helped) and went to hang the wreath of holly above Starscream's berth.

The Seeker was only just beginning to look like a Cybertronian again. He could easily identify a leg and an arm connected to part of a chassis but the rest was still a mangle of metal. Over on one side of the ward, Ratchet was rebuilding a limb, though from the way he was hunched over it, Optimus suspected that the medic was deep in recharge. That and the light snoring he could hear. He shook his helm, a soft smile coming to his face. Ratchet was pushing himself hard to fix Starscream, often sending Optimus to hunt down as much energon as he could in order to make the earth metals he was using more suitable for use. Seeing Ratchet slumped over after a week or two of solid working was becoming a common occurrence.

He went to Starscream's berth and leaned over to hang the tiny wreath above it, careful to avoid bumping the berth or the machines that were monitoring Starscream and keeping him online. The last thing he wanted to do was cause Starscream anymore damage.

The holly wreath neatly hung above the bed, the Prime laid a servo on the Seeker's arm. He wondered if Starscream could feel it, could hear him if he spoke. Ratchet hadn't said otherwise. "I…" He paused suddenly unsure of what to say. "…Stay with us. Ratchet will restore you, given time. Just hold on a while longer." He might have imagined it, but he was sure that when he looked over at the spark monitor, Starscream's spark beat had increased for a moment before returning to normal. Optimus glanced over at Ratchet one final time before departing, leaving the medic to his sleep, and Starscream to his recovery.

-0-

As the end of May approached, June loomed and so did the subject of what to do about Miko. She would be returning to her home country once the school year ended. Optimus drew Bulkhead aside one afternoon to discuss exactly what they would be doing. From the miserable expression on Bulkhead's face, he knew exactly what this talk was going to be about.

"Bulkhead-" Optimus began but Bulkhead interrupted.

"Save it Optimus," Bulkhead said quietly. "This is between Miko and me. We…we have a plan."

"Enlighten me Bulkhead. The humans' safety was the reason they remained with us in the beginning," Optimus reminded him. "It is still our main concern and despite Miko moving away, we must be able to look after her."

"I know that, that's why we have a plan." The ex-Wrecker lifted a servo, ticking things off on his thick fingers. "Plan A: Groundbridge to her bedroom in Japan, she can come through. Plan B: Groundbridge to a deserted sidestreet, she can come through. Plan C: Groundbridge to somewhere in the countryside, then both of us can go through."

"And have you told Ratchet of these plans?" Optimus raised an eyebrow, lips quirking in a slight smile.

"Uh, not…exactly." Bulkhead ducked his helm under Optimus' gaze. "Should do that now." With that he slipped away to tell Ratchet of the plan and its two backups.

-0-

Miko's flight was in the early morning later that month. The day before it she spent with Bulkhead, never leaving his side. When the time came to leave that night, she was in tears, hugging her human friends, ruffling Raf's hair and kissing Jack's cheek. While Jack stood in silent confusion, Miko said her goodbyes to the rest of the team, making them quick.

Optimus noticed that while she and Bulkhead had a plan to see each other, they were only just now realising it wouldn't be the same as it had been. His spark went out to them. When Bulkhead returned mid-morning the next day having seen Miko off, Optimus made sure he was there to provide comfort to one who needed it. Even if it meant sitting with the largest of their group and gently removing the twelfth cube of high grade from Bulkhead's servo when his hard hitting warrior dozed off in the middle of a story about Miko. The Prime would have done it for any of his own, as they would have done for him. It was what family did.

-0-

Barely a week later, Ratchet caught up with Optimus while the leader was having a few seconds to himself before an energon patrol. "He's ready."

Optimus set down his cube, still half full. "Are you certain?" he asked, rising from his seat.

"As certain as I can be." Ratchet clutched the door frame, tense. "I just don't know how he'll react. His processor was pretty badly damaged, that took some time to repair. The mind is a tricky thing, Optimus, and I am not a brain surgeon. I did what I could but just because I fixed the physical damage doesn't mean there isn't an underlying problem because of his ordeal."

"The only way to find out how he is recovering then is to awaken him."

Ratchet nodded and stepped back. "I think we should do it, just the two of us. It might keep him calm if there's fewer around." With that in mind, Optimus followed him to the room Ratchet had set aside for rebuilding Starscream. Seeing the Seeker lying there, Optimus noticed there was something wrong. There were only thin metal pieces where Starscream's wings were supposed to be, a thin metal outline and nothing more. He turned to question Ratchet but the medic explained before he could open his mouth. "I need him online to fix those. Those are just placeholders of a sort."

The Prime nodded and took up position by the berth, right by Starscream's side. Another nod to Ratchet and the medic took Starscream's left wrist, extending a small medical cable from his own, plugging it into the medical port hidden under the wrist plating. As Optimus watched, he could see Starscream begin to online, hear the Seeker's systems warming up after a year of almost no activity aside from the bare minimum. Ratchet withdrew from the connection, gaze moving between the monitors and Starscream himself.

With a shudder, the silver mech finally onlined and opened his optics. Optimus watched as they looked up at the ceiling with no small amount of confusion in them before they found Ratchet, then himself. He wasn't sure if he should be pleased that there was no sign of fear in them. Was that a sign of the damage Ratchet had mentioned?

Starscream sat up, still gazing directly at the Prime without fear. He opened his mouth to speak, but only a crackle of static came out. The Seeker frowned and touched his throat, clearing it. He tried again. "Wh…what am…I doing here?" His voice was still laced with static but at least he could form Cybertronian words. Ratchet passed him a cube of energon, encouraging him to drink while Optimus explained.

"We found you injured, and Ratchet managed to nurse you back to health."

Starscream looked from the cube to the medic. "Ratchet…" he said slowly, as if memorising it.

_Strange_, thought Optimus. _It's as though he's forgotten us_. Alarm lanced through the Prime suddenly, fuelling his next question. "Starscream, do you know who we are?"

There was silence for a moment before the Seeker looked at Optimus. "…I don't," he admitted quietly. "Though maybe I should. You know me, know my name. Apparently you've repaired me, though you've failed to give me a means to defend myself. My weapons modifications are missing, my claws dulled. You see me as a threat, so you've disarmed me. You can't seriously expect me to trust you when -" Starscream froze mid-sentence.

"Starscream?" Ratchet asked after a moment.

"Starscream, you must understand -"

"I understand that you've taken my wings!" the Seeker hissed, baring his teeth. Being weaponless didn't stop him throwing himself at Optimus.

"Optimus!" Machines shrieked disconnection warnings over Ratchet's cry and Starscream hissed and spat as he tried to claw the Prime's optics out. Thankfully in his weakened state, it was easy for Optimus to pin him against the wall. He struggled even then, somehow managing to sink his teeth into Optimus' neck cables and bite down hard. The older mech bellowed in pain, slamming Starscream back against the wall and crushing those flimsy wing placeholders. He grabbed the Seeker's arms and pinned them over his helm.

"Ratchet! Sedate him!"

The medic was already by his side before he'd finished giving the order, jamming a small data chip into Starscream's wrist port. The Seeker snarled one last time before he went limp in Optimus' grip. The Prime waited a moment to be sure the sedation coding was in effect before collecting the unconscious Starscream in his arms and carrying him back to the berth. He laid the Seeker down with care, stepping back out of Ratchet's way while he reconnected the machines and silenced their warnings. He noticed that this time Starscream's limbs were strapped down to the berth.

"I wasn't expecting that," Ratchet murmured as he stepped back. "Perhaps I should have. I didn't expect memory loss as severe as this. Perhaps of the event that caused the damage but not like this."

"Next time we wake him, we will be prepared to deal with it," Optimus said firmly, looking down at the medicbot. "See if you can do something to suppress the surge of emotions when he realises he doesn't have his wings."

"Makes me wish I could fix the wings while he was offline," Ratchet muttered darkly. Then louder, "Alright, Optimus. I'll give you a call when it's done."

With that, the Prime left Starscream in Ratchet's capable servos. Again. Perhaps this time Starscream wouldn't wake up ready to attack those who only wished to help.

-0-

(A/N: Sorry about the wait, been getting ready for uni, yay. Why didn't anyone mention my page breaks had disappeared? Apparently my usual use of three little dashes doesn't actually work anymore and I never noticed. A shame because it was nice and neat but I suppose this -0- will have to do. If this one doesn't show up, please say? Also I feel like I should put a warning in here. This is not going to be a happy story. There isn't going to be sunshine and rainbows at the end of this, love won't conquer all evils, etc. In other news, poll on my profile page, vote if you wish :3 )


	4. Starscream

When Starscream onlined from his sedation, he found himself tied down to the same berth which he'd woken on previously. Wonderful, he thought sourly. Even better, the medic who'd treated him was frowning down at him.

"What?" He couldn't help but snap angrily at the fool.

"Don't you 'what' me. I just spent a year putting you back together. I can easily take you apart, or better yet, just leave you without your precious wings." Clearly the medic wasn't in a mood to deal with prissy Seekers.

Starscream fell quiet, a sulky expression across his face. While the medic poked and prodded at him, the Seeker took the time to look around the room as best he could. He was lying on a berth in a small room, possibly set aside just for him. The head of the berth was pushed back against a rock wall, a desk on the far side was covered in tools and what looked like scraps of metal and a few empty energon cubes, a chair tucked underneath the desk and a privacy screen was pressed against the wall. By the berth itself, there was a little metal table – and if he moved his head enough to see past the medic standing in the way, he could see a minute set of chairs and a table sitting on top of it. What were those for? He was tempted to ask but the cranky medic was the only one present and he didn't seem to be the best choice for conversation.

The silence dragged on until the medic spoke up at last. "Alright, I've finished my scans. You want to hear the prognosis or do you want to complain some more?"

Starscream scowled at the mech. "Tell me, because I'd love to hear more from you." He could tell he wasn't going to get on with this particular physician.

"Your core memory processors have been badly damaged. I fixed what I could when I was rebuilding you but the connections will have to reform naturally through your self-repair or I could permanently damage you." He paused. "I didn't expect you to have lost access to quite so many of your memory files."

"Yes well, neither did I." Starscream said snidely. He tested the strength of his bonds again and grunted when they didn't as much as budge. "Is this really necessary?" he whined. "I promise I won't hurt anyone again, just let me outside for a little while, or at least off my back." It felt so unnatural to be lying flat without wings spread out behind him. The niggling panic was there still, lurking at the back of his mind and just waiting to draw him back in to its murky depths. He shuddered and closed his optics, forcing himself to be calm. As easy as it would be to allow himself to panic and let mindless instinct take over, it hadn't worked well last time. They could give him his wings…but only if he played nice.

He dared to open his optics and gaze up at the medic, who was regarding him suspiciously. "You truly don't recall a thing? Not even who we are?"

_How irritating_, Starscream thought. _Haven't we been over this already?_ He didn't dare say that aloud, not when he wanted to convince them he was harmless and therefore deserving of trust and repairs to his wings. "No. Sadly, I can't recall a thing." He said, voice practically dripping with sweetness. "A shame, I'm sure we once got on magnificently…" He trailed off meaningfully, waiting for the other to volunteer his name.

"Ratchet. And no, we didn't get on." The medic drew back from the berth and picked up a cube of energon that had been left sitting out. "I know this isn't the kind you are used to, but it'll have to do for the moment."

Starscream just stared at him for a moment. Ratchet stared back. After an awkward silence, Starscream finally asked, "Could you let me up to drink it? Or at least bring it closer?" He saw the hesitance on the other's face and sighed. "I won't bite your fingers off."

"That's debateable." Ratchet muttered.

Starscream knew he wasn't trusted but he highly doubted the medic would let him starve. He was right of course, the medic finally bringing the cube to his lips and letting him drink. The taste of energon on his tongue made him sigh once he'd swallowed. Not the higher standard he was used to, perhaps, but it did taste fine all the same. It would keep him going for the time being but since he wouldn't be ripping through his energy reserves during flight, it hardly mattered right now.

The cube was set aside when it was emptied, Ratchet watching him carefully as though he expected the Seeker to spring a leak all of a sudden. When nothing leaked, Ratchet seemed to relax a little. "Well, the repairs to your fuel pump seem to be holding. That's a relief."

"My fuel pump was damaged?" Starscream asked, a little alarm creeping into his voice. A de-clawed hand touched at his chest, as through he'd be able to feel the damage despite several layers of armour being in the way.

"Starscream, you were practically a cube of crushed metal when we found you." Ratchet said patiently. "You're lucky that Optimus has a soft spark. If anyone else had found you, you'd probably have offlined."

Starscream shuttered his optics, trying very hard not to let on how much that hurt. Truly, was he so hated by these people that only one of their number would consider helping him? Where was his trine in this? He knew he had one, he could feel the connections to his spark but it was as though they were blocked, the recipients too far away perhaps. He had to ask, he had to know where they were…why they hadn't been the ones to save him. "M-my trine?"

Ratchet was silent, oddly so. Starscream dared to peek at him, fighting to calm himself and avoid the panic that was threatening to rise up again. The medic's expression seemed torn, as though he wanted to speak yet didn't dare to. "…Optimus wants to speak to you again."

Starscream didn't say a word, nodding mutely and offlining his optics once again. Once more he tried reaching out along the bonds of his spark, desperate for any kind of familiar contact in this unknown place. Nothing. A wave of grief and loss washed over him. Grief for the memories of his trine that he knew he should have instead of the terrible _nothing_ that was in his mind and loss of those he knew he cared for enough to join in a trine bond with. What were they like? Did they know he was alive? Did they care? Many unanswered questions whizzed through his processor and after a moment or two he felt an ache starting in the back of his mind. He scowled through the irritating pain and onlined his optics. Sometime during the time he'd been thinking and attempting to reach his missing trine, that tall mech had come back in –what was his name, Optimus? - and was now speaking to the medic.

It worried him that they were discussing something in low tones, both occasionally looking over to him. Somehow, he was able to stop himself from showing such worry on his face. When they noticed him watching, they fell quiet, the taller mech striding towards his berth.

Starscream couldn't help but flinch when the leader loomed over him, for some reason expecting a blow or an attack. He tried to curl up to protect himself, his thin armour probably not all that good for deflecting strong hits from this particular mech. When no blow came, he felt very foolish. Sheepishly, he looked up at the tall mech. The concern evident on Optimus' face surprised him and the next words from Optimus only deepened his surprise.

"I won't hurt you without provocation Starscream but I will defend myself if you choose to attack me once again." He cautioned. Starscream got the feeling that next time, he wouldn't be waking up at all. "You will be treated as you deserve, based on your actions and words. You are bound because you tried to attack me. Until you give your word that you will not attack another in such a manner again, you will remain here. You will also not undergo any procedures to restore your wings."

Starscream whimpered, panic rising at the thought of never getting his wings back. "No, please! I swear it! You don't understand what it's like without them, I need them!"

"Swear it on what?" Ratchet butted in; deeply unamused with the route this conversation was taking if the disgusted expression on his face was anything to go by. "It's not like he remembers anything important to swear it on and in case you've forgotten, this is Starscream we're talking about. His word is about as good as Megatron's-!" The name gave Starscream chills, distracting him enough that he almost missed Optimus' quiet response.

"I will remind you, Ratchet, that Megatron does indeed hold his word."

"Who-?" Starscream began to ask the obvious question but thought better of it. He didn't particularly want to remember if the name alone gave him shivers. "Please. I would very much appreciate it if I could just step outside. Even for a moment. I promise I won't try to escape. Or hurt anyone. I need to get out from under this rock, please." He despised begging others for anything but right now he was willing to give up a little dignity to beg these strangers for even a glimpse of the sky.

The silence after his pleading was thick and Starscream prepared himself for disappointment. He was pleasantly surprised when Ratchet sighed grumpily and reached over to unclip the bonds holding him down. "You so much as look at anyone funny on the way to the bridge room, I will offline you." He muttered darkly.

Starscream scooted ungracefully down the berth to stand up, trying not to look as nervous as he felt. The threat was real, that he was sure of. He would just have to stick to his promise until they gave him his wings and he could get out of there. The sooner he got out of this carved out rock, the better as far as he was concerned.

-0-

The trip to the ground bridge was at least uneventful. Everyone else seemed to be elsewhere or so Starscream thought. Maybe they were secretly hiding from him, laughing at him behind his back for being a wingless Seeker. It was easy to fight off the paranoia when they came across the ground bridge, the Seeker immediately interested in the finer workings of it. Of course, he was shooed away from the controls by the medic, ordered to stand with the Prime by the entrance to the bridge. He silently stood by as the bridge opened, watching the green light swirl somewhat hypnotically. Entranced, it took a gentle touch from Optimus to get him moving through the bright portal.

They stepped out into dull sunlight, Starscream sighing at the welcoming warmth when the light touched his plating. He missed the breeze against his wings despite the fact he couldn't exactly recall any memories of such a thing. His plating knew the touch however, and he rejoiced at the feeling regardless. It was a step in the right direction.

He walked a little distance from the bridge site, well aware of Optimus watching his every move. Tempting as it was to just run, in the end it would be pointless and wouldn't help him gain the Prime's trust. He needed that trust to get his wings. _Gain their trust. Regain my wings._ So long as he kept repeating that mantra to himself, he thought he could manage this charade long enough to heal.

It seemed the universe had other plans in mind.

Barely five steps from his bodyguard, his spark exploded. He could feel someone, someone so familiar and welcoming. He felt grief, a loss so strong in the spark he was joined to that he found himself grieving too, though for what he didn't know.Along the connection came a sudden burst of shock and disorientation, the sensation of _flying_ and falling and he found himself on his knees, gasping aloud with the other's cry of shock. There was a brief feeling of recognition and pure _joy_ before he was gathered in strong arms. Fear took hold of him and he struggled, panicking as he was held tight against a broad chest. There was a bright flash of green light around him and his captor and though he tried with all his might to cling to the spark connection, it was ripped away, leaving him empty and cold.

Alone and trapped in a strong grip, wingless and friendless, Starscream acted on pure instinct. He struggled and kicked, the sound of metal striking metal filling the room (room? When had they gotten to a room? What happened to the rocks and the desert?) as his blows landed. Hands grabbing his arms and pinning them down only made his spark pulse faster, panic culminating in a deafening screech.

Silver armour seemed to fill his vision, a dark laugh blocking out even the sound of his own voice. Clawed fingers grabbing his arms, piercing his armour – piercing his wings, shredding them until his energon covered the ground and his vocaliser was spitting static from the constant screaming.

"_Let this be a lesson to you, Starscream. My will is law, and if you disobey me again, I will not hesitate to offline you permanently."_

He could only lay limp and still in those arms and shudder in horror as the words looped themselves in his processor. An ache was growing there which made it hard to concentrate. As though from several rooms away, he could hear voices speaking.

"-have to sedate him _now_ or he'll-"

Were they talking about him? He couldn't tell through the growing pain…

"I don't understand what happened-"

Silver faded to red, the panic ebbing and leaving behind utter exhaustion.

"-Just let me get-"

"Ratchet wait, he's coming around.

That voice…He knew that voice…

A face swam into view, blunt fingers touching his face, tilting his head up so he could see gentle blue optics gazing down at him. Darkness gathered at the edge of his vision, threatening to consume him. Static still crackled from his vocaliser as he spoke, but he had to ask, had to know –

"…Master?"

Blackness clouded his vision, those bright, concerned, confused optics the last thing he saw before he couldn't stay awake. He slipped into the safety of stasis, the darkness warm and welcoming, eager to make him forget what he'd so briefly remembered.

-0-

(A/N: Not quite the seven page epic that the last chapter was but that was an Optimus chapter and oh my god is that mech wordy in his thoughts. I'm terribly sorry for the delay in this, university had be drowning in assessments and I really should be doing one right now but quite frankly I needed a break from talking about Habitat Management Plans and this chapter needed finished. I hope you think this is worth the wait.

Shout out to my beta Mal, who I should have been thanking the past three chapters but I haven't been, naughty me. I dare you to find the bits which you inspired me with.)


	5. Ratchet

Ratchet was half of a mind to smack Optimus stupid. Or rather, smack some sense into him. He didn't though, if only because he was past the stage of hoping Optimus would follow his processor and not his spark (or Primus forbid, his interface drive). Instead, he did what he usually did: complain bitterly to himself while he was wrist deep in Starscream's processors.

"Slaggit, Optimus! I can't trust you with an ill mech for more than one moment, can I?" he grumbled at his work. His fingertips had transformed into the tiny tools he used for delicate work like this. "Of course not, something always happens. Always."

He pulled a face when he saw the damaged core, blackened with what must have been a bad surge. Most of the connections were still there, if a little black but the important thing was that they were whole. Starscream wouldn't be forgetting today's memories at least. What concerned him was what had caused the surge.

Optimus had come through with a struggling Starscream, the Seeker's systems running too hot for his coolant systems to be able to handle. Starscream had been whimpering in pain, clawing at Optimus and hissing. The strangest thing had been the word to leave Starscream's mouth when he went limp.

Ratchet focused on attempting to repair what damage had been done, trying not to think about what had happened that Optimus was suddenly Starscream's new 'master'.

-0-

"Memory core damage is still extensive but it seems as though there has been some developments." Ratchet said to the Prime who now sat beside an onlined yet very groggy Seeker. He made sure to include Starscream as he spoke, though he did wonder how much of it was actually heard. "The blackening wasn't there when I was repairing you from the pile of scrap you came in as. I can't see the problem though." The medic was frustrated but aside from glowering at the far wall, he managed not to show it. Wouldn't do to unsettle the patient. "So...for now, I'm assuming you are fine, aside from the missing wings."

The medic drew out a sealed cube of energon from his desk and pressed it into Optimus' hands. "Make sure he drinks this. I need to recharge after this mess." he murmured, trusting Optimus not to do something stupid. "Comm me if something goes wrong."

With that, he headed for a much needed rest.

-0-

It was fortunate that Ratchet wasn't prone to processor crashes like some mechs he'd known back in the day. The sight which greeted him upon his return to the little private room was enough to have sent Prowl or Red Alert into fits had either of them been the ones to spot it.

Optimus had fallen into recharge, little surprise there with how hard he ran himself. Nor was it a surpise that he had dragged the chair close enough to the berth so he could lean his arms on it, and his head on them. It was Starscream, curled up on his side with one hand tucked under Optimus' own that had him staring.

Slowly, Ratchet backed out of the room, very calmly locking the door behind him to prevent any of the others from happening on the scene, as unlikely as it would seem.

He was going to have to have a little talk with Optimus about this. The last thing they needed was for those two to become involved. That was just asking for trouble.

-0-

((A/N: Small Ratchet chapter. I refrained from posting this on its own because for all I tried, I only managed about a page with our Doctor of Doom. I don't even know how much I like it to be honest. Chapter 6 is going up today too.

Thanks to my beta!))


	6. Thundercracker

Thundercracker paced back and forth before Skywarp, their positions eerily similar to the year before when they'd been discussing Starscream's death. Once again, they were speaking of their trine leader, though this time neither of them were quite sure that Starscream was gone.

"I felt it too," Thundercracker said quietly. "Just a brief flair, mostly from your end of the bond, but it was there. Starscream lives, I don't know how. It doesn't matter. What matters is that Megatron doesn't find out. He'll think Starscream is a traitor. Missing for an Earth year? No fragging way is he going to let Starscream live."

"So what are we supposed to do then?" Skywarp asked, huffily crossing his arms. "We can't just leave him! He was so happy when we felt each other, just for a second. I felt it. He needs us!"

"What do you want me to do Skywarp?" Thundercracker spun to face him, wing arched high and spread out in a threatning display. Skywarp automatically shrank back, wings lowered, dim optics focused on the floor while Thundercracker loomed and ranted. "You want me to up and quit the Decepticons for Starscream? Are you slaggin' kidding me? Then we'd have the Autobots AND the Decepticons on our afts! Starscream's lived this long because Megatron didn't know he was alive, I highly doubt that Megatron is going to let us just wander away and forget to come back!"

"I - I'm sorry, I just -"

"You 'just' nothing, Skywarp!" Thundercracker growled. "I want you to swear to me, right here and now, on our bond that you will not go looking for Starscream."

Skywarp looked up at him with wide optics, Thundercracker feeling his fear and misery keenly through their bond. He ruthlessly clamped down on it, refusing to be swayed.

"I – I swear." Skywarp looked down, unable to meet his trine mate's optics.

"Good." Thundercracker lowered his wings to their usual position. "The last thing I need is to lose you too."

-0-

It was hard to keep control of his wingmate from then on. He'd caught Skywarp staring down at the earth below them four times already when they were in the control deck, and that was just in one day.

Soundwave seemed to be ignoring them, but he couldn't help but worry that something was up. Thundercracker wondered if there were bugs in their quarters and immediately realised that were bound to be at least three dozen in that room. Starscream had stayed in there, plotting madly the entire time now doubt. If there weren't bugs crawling over every inch of every surface then Thundercracker would be disappointed. Still, it meant Soundwave likely knew. And if Soundwave knew, then Megatron would know in short order.

Thundercracker cursed Skywarp's big mouth. If he'd been sensible, they would have talked about it on a patrol flight. Skywarp was too big mouthed for his own good.

Frag it all to the pit! If Soundwave went to Megatron first, then Thundercracker would be labelled the next Starscream for having hid such vital information from the Decepticon leader. Thundercracker almost let out an audible groan, instead minimising his reaction to a simple irritated flick of the wings. There was really only one thing for it.

He was going to have to tell Megatron himself.

...Skywarp was going to kill him after this.

-0-

He approached Megatron when he had the chance to, bowing low. "My Lord, might I have a moment of your time?" he asked quietly, firmly ignoring Skywarp's burning gaze on his back. It made his wings itch but the sudden yelling over the trine bond was harder to ignore than the glaring.

Megatron looked at him warily before nodding his helm, leading Thundercracker away from the main room. Thundercraker was forced to place a block on the remaining bond he shared with Skywarp just to get him to shut up. That done, he found himself in Megatron's private quarters. He hid his surprise well, wings remaining stock still and disguising what he felt.

"What is it?" Megatron asked, already leaving him by the door to take a cube of energon from his personal store. He didn't offer Thundercracker one nor did the Elite Seeker expect him to do so.

"Starscream is alive." Why bother beating around the bush? Bluntness was always most effective in getting his point across.

Megatron barely glanced his way. "So Skywarp insists." he said quietly, gazing into the soft blue of his energon. "Yet you have always remained silently sure your former Commander has passed on. Why the sudden change of spark?" He lifted his gaze to Thundercracker, red optics demanding an answer.

Thundercracker couldn't help but squirm uncomfortably when Megatron pinned him with that piercing stare. "We both felt his spark. It was just a brief flare but it was him. We are bonded to no other-"

"Silence!"

Thundercracker bowed his head, optics shuttered and wings dipped.

"...When did you feel this...'flare'?" his Lord asked quietly.

He could hear Megatron stepping closer, the metal under their feet quivering slightly with every step. "When Skywarp was doing his last patrol yesterday afternoon, Sir."

"And where...?"

"..." Thundercracker knew he shouldn't have hesitated to answer. His reward for withholding information? Pain exploded across his cheek plating and he found himself on the floor, too stunned to do more than remain where he was. He stared up at Megatron, the warlord looming over him.

"Well?" Megatron demanded.

"He – it was in Nevada." Thundercracker stuttered, still stunned he'd been struck. It hardly occurred to him that Megatron would strike him. He wasn't Starscream, why would there ever be a reason for Megatron to attack him? Apparently hesitating was reason enough.

"Nevada." Megatron repeated, the human word sounding vaguely like a curse coming from him. "Then have Soundwave take us there."

Thundercracker stared up at him, unmoving.

"Now!" the gladiator snarled, reaching for the Seeker lying on the floor.

Thundercracker started and scrambled away, wings ducked in submission as he hurried to get as far away from Megatron as he could. Suddenly, he could see why Starscream had harboured such hatred for Megatron. At least this hadn't happened in front of Skywarp, he didn't think his pride could have stood for it. As it was, he tried to act as though nothing was wrong before he entered the bridge.

Funny how even the drones refused to meet his optics.

-0-

"No." Skywarp refused.

Thundercracker resolutely kept his optics on the floor, forcing himself to remain rooted to the spot while his trine mate defied Megatron's orders.

"You dare refuse me?" He heard Megatron snarl, felt the floor shake as he stormed across to Skywarp. He felt Skywarp's defiance and fear through the bond but there was no call for help. Skywarp didn't trust him not to turn his back again. "I have given you a direct order-"

"And I refuse on the grounds that I know you'll kill him just as soon as I lead you to him!" Skywarp spat.

"I will give you one chance to comply, Skywarp," Megatron said lowly. "Refuse and you will find yourself in a great deal of pain."

"Bite me!"

Thundercracker winced as he heard Skywarp be struck, again and again. He finally looked up, unable to stand not knowing any longer.

Skywarp was down on his knees, pushing himself back up from where he'd fallen. Energon dripped from his mouth until he wiped it away on the back of his hand. "I will not – not lead you to him!" he said defiantly, struggling to rise.

Megatron advanced, murder in his optics. Thundercracker didn't understand what made him launch himself across the floor of the command room, certainly not his self preservation protocols. The next thing he knew, he was standing before Megatron, preventing the gladiator from reaching Skywarp. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact he knew Skywarp was expendable in Megatron's mind. A mostly loyal Second-In-Command however, was slightly more likely to live.

"Take out his punishment on me." he said firmly, meeting Megatron's optics. "Please. Beating him has never worked as a disciplinary action, I know this. But if you punish me for his stupidity-"

"Careful what you say Thundercracker," Megatron drawled, looming over the shorter mech. "You make it sound as though he cares for you." At least he looked as though he was considering it. "You don't want mechs to get the wrong idea. They'll start using it against you before you realise it..."

Thundercracker's intakes stuttered for a brief moment but he kept up his slightly pleading gaze. Megatron's optics narrowed and before Thundercracker could blink there was a hand around his neck, squeezing painfully at his neck cables and dragging him from Skywarp.

"You will live to regret this night..."

-0-

It was hard to find his way to the medical ward with energon dripping into his optics but he managed it, stumbling in and valiantly trying not to fall flat on his face. His right wing was bent at a right angle to his body and he bumped it against the door, hissing when agony shot through it.

"Knockout!" Thundercracker called, clutching his right arm close to his chest. "Knockout, get over here and fix me up!"

The medic slunk into view, a bright splotch to the half-blind Thundercracker. He knew Knockout would be smirking though. He always smirked. What he wouldn't give just to smack it off his face.

"My, my, did we fly into a wall, Commander?" Knockout drawled, unknowingly pushing Thundercracker very close to the limit of his patience.

"I'll fly you into a wall if you don't shut up and fix me." he snarled.

"Touchy today, aren't we?"

He felt Knockout's spindly fingers touch his (relatively) undamaged arm and guide him over to a berth.

"Let's take a look at that arm first."

Thundercracker wasn't having any of it. He shuffled back away from Knockout. "No. The wing first."

"Thundercracker, you arm is sparking, your wing is just bent at an angle. Let me see-!"

"Get off-!"

There was a dull thunk as something heavy hit the floor. Thundercracker was bombarded with errors about his arm and forcibly swept them aside as he looked down at the arm in question.

Oh.

"Well." Knockout said after an awkward pause, stooping to pick up Thundercracker's arm from the floor. "At least I know where this one is."

-0-

((A/N: I really enjoyed this one.

The arm I suppose deserves a little explanation. I suppose it can mirror Starscream loosing his arm in Shadowzone, but my real intention is based off Thundercracker's DotM toy. I swear, every time I touch him, one of his arms drops off. You can't transform him without it happening at least one. Since he's a straight Starscream repaint, I'm thinking Starscream's toy probably has the same problems.

Anyway, the idea to put it in came when I was talking with a friend when she stayed with me to watch Orion Pax Part 1. I was transforming TC and kept knocking his arm off his ball joint and I was somehow convinced into putting it in here.

Enjoy! -arm falls off-))


	7. At Home with the Autobots

Starscream sat hunched over on the berth, scowling at the floor as Ratchet welded the framework of his new wings to his back. It hadn't taken long for him to worm his way into the Prime's favour (though he was still rather confused why a Prime was being so kind to him) and to manipulate that favour into getting his wings rebuilt. There were a few issues he had time to address while he was sitting here, glowering at the floor.

One: he needed to fly. Simply put, he couldn't until Ratchet had finished with his wings, a long and undoubtedly painful process he was sure. That and he wasn't sure he could trust the medic to do it right, even if he had supposedly been rebuilt from the pile of scrap that they said he'd been.

Two: Prime was making doe eyes at him. He honestly wasn't sure what to do about that. There were mixed emotions there, a deep distrust, confusion and a little curiosity. Did this have something to do with what he couldn't remember? Or was this a new occurrence? Either way, he didn't think it was a good idea. Getting attached would only lead to complications and since he planned to escape from this underground rock or wherever they were as soon as his wings were repaired, he couldn't afford attachments.

Even if it had been rather nice waking up against Optimus' chestplates after blacking out in the desert.

Starscream dug his claws into the berth. He would allow himself that but he refused to sink any lower -

"Move the left wing for me. I need to see if I've connected this right." Ratchet interrupted his thoughts.

Starscream obeyed, glad for the distraction. Emotions were terribly confusing without any context. He almost wished his emotional programming had been slagged in the crash -

He stiffened, something that had nothing to do with the tiny tools burrowing into his back this time. Crash. He remembered the crash – and blinding pain, all over his body. He bit down on finger to stifle a pained noise. Oh, he wished he didn't remember now.

"Sorry, must have clipped a wire there."

Again, Ratchet's voice distracted him and he shook his head slightly, letting his finger go. "You did." He said coldly, feeling the medic still at his back, the tools withdrawing after the pause. A moment later he found Ratchet standing before him, looking almost concerned.

"That shouldn't have hurt that much, is there something you aren't telling me?"

Starscream felt something dip against his back and with a jolt realised it was the framework for one of his wings. He couldn't really feel the wing yet but the basic struts and support were there. It wouldn't be long. "No. Why would I hide something from my rescuers?" He asked quietly. Something told him that it would be best to keep this to himself for the time being. He didn't trust these people, rescuers or not. Something felt off.

Ratchet gazed at him levelly. "Why indeed."

-0-

"What," Starscream spoke slowly, staring down at the little thing standing on his berthside table, "is that?"

"'That' is a human." Optimus explained calmly, watching Starscream's reaction with veiled interest. Starscream didn't notice, too busy leaning closer to the little pink thing. It seemed to be waving at him. "They are the dominant species on this planet, I had asked Ratchet to give you the language modules for the main languages spoken here. Has he?"

Starscream flicked his wing framework in irritation. "Yes." he said sullenly. "It is basic, simplistic. Do you honestly expect me to-?"

"Starscream." There was a little warning in the Prime's tone.

Starscream scowled and crossed his arms, knowing full well he was acting like an unrepentant youngling but frankly he couldn't give a scrap. He focused on the...strangely excited human and spoke a few words of what appeared to be the dominant language from the module. All he got was a confused look in return.

"That would be Chinese, Starscream." Optimus said calmly, a very slight smile on his lips despite speaking in one of the human tongues. "Try the third."

With a long suffering sigh, Starscream switched language packs. "English?" he asked, turning unamused optics on the human.

"Perfect!"

Oh goody, now he could understand the thing.

"I'm Miko! I put that wreath over your bed at Christmas, even though you weren't online to see it. So what's it like to fly? I'll bet its amazing, you must be awesome in the air, can you do tricks? Can you go faster than the speed of sound? Can-"

And the questions went on. And on.

Starscream...didn't mind so much. He liked to talk about himself after all. Even if he couldn't remember much.

-0-

Ratchet had kidnapped Optimus partway through the introduction to Miko and her 20 questions, dragging the Prime into a storage cupboard to interrogate him. "What in the name of Unicron made you think that picking MIKO of all humans to introduce him to was a good idea?" he hissed to the Prime, plating bristling slightly in agitation.

"If you are so opposed to it, why did you remove us from the room where they are?" Optimus countered softly.

"I..." Ratchet struggled to find an answer for that one.

"Relax old friend. If I did not trust Starscream to be too busy answering her questions about himself, then I would not have left." The Prime assured him. "Starscream may recall things as Miko questions. She is open and very curious. Jack is quieter and guarded, he would not be so willing to give Starscream a chance. Raf is perhaps the next best choice once Miko has gotten Starscream to open up and converse more freely."

Ratchet stared at him like he was glitched. "Couldn't we just have brought in Fowler?"

"Agent Fowler is...unaware-"

"Unaware?" Ratchet knew that he was being a little too loud, judging from the way Optimus flinched at his bellow. "He's been here for a year and you haven't told Fowler?"

"It rarely seemed like an appropriate time to-"

"You could have just come out and told him!" The medic was stunned at his leader, unable to believe this had been overlooked. "How hard is it to tell him, 'Oh, Agent Fowler, we have a comatose Starscream in our base, how are you?' because it's just words Optimus, it's not like he can do anything-" He paused, realisation hitting him as hard as one of Megatron's blows. "That's it. You were afraid they'd want him. Weren't you?"

"We cannot allow our technology to fall into the hands of such a warlike people." Optimus replied. It was his usual line to pull out in situations like this. But it didn't explain why he was suddenly unable to meet the optics of his oldest friend.

"Oh Optimus, really? Of all the – Starscream? You fall helm over heels for that mess of a mech?" Ratchet vented heavily, looking down at the floor. "He will remember what happened, so long as he suffers no more crashes. You don't stand a ghost of a chance with him after that." He brushed past his leader, sending a glance at Starscream and Miko. Miko was sitting cross-legged on the table while Starscream was telling her some story or other. Ratchet couldn't bring himself to care, leaving the room.

Optimus sighed, stepping out of the storage room to watch him go. "I'm sorry old friend..." he said softly.

-0-

Ratchet returned a short time later to continue the work on Starscream's wings. He brought Bulkhead with him to collect Miko, the ex-Wrecker steadfastly ignoring Starscream the entire time he was in the same room. When he and Miko departed Optimus left with them, casting a glance back at the pair.

Starscream sneered at Bulkhead's back when he left. "How rude. What did I ever do to him?" he said, wrapping his arms around himself.

"Hold still." Ratchet chided, pinching a wire in Starscream's back as a reprimand, the Seeker hissing at him in return.

"Stop pinching me and maybe I'll stop moving, you glitched pain in the aft!"

Ratchet growled. "Stop being such a brat!"

"I can hear you two bickering out in the hallway. Is there a problem?"A third voice joined the conversation, its owner stepping into the room. Her forearm was currently replaced by a blaster, Starscream noted, and something small ran at her heels like some kind of pet.

"No Arcee, no problem." Ratchet said gruffly. "You don't need to hang around with that out. I've disabled all his weapons, he's not going anywhere."

Starscream could practically feel the distrust rolling off the blue femme standing in the doorway. "Whatever you say Ratchet." she said lightly. The blaster didn't go anywhere.

Again, Starscream wondered what he was to these mecha. The little thing that had been at her heels captured his attention after a moment and he couldn't help but stare at it, wing frames shifting slightly with curiosity. It stared back.

Ratchet caught the shifting struts in a hand and held them firmly. "Sit still! Arcee, are you here for a reason or are you just going to hover in the corner?"

"Optimus thought it would be a good idea to bring Jack along." The femme replied, "So here we are."

"Here you are." Starscream echoed quietly. He leaned forwards, finding that he rather enjoyed the way she stiffened at his voice. "Don't I get an introduction?"

Behind him, the medic sighed. "Starscream, this is Arcee and Jack. Optimus wants you to chat, so Jack, up on the table. Now sit _still_ for goodness sake." He jerked the Seeker back and got another hiss for his efforts.

While Ratchet wrestled Starscream into a suitable position to continue his work, Jack made his way up to the human sized table and chairs with a little help from Arcee. The femme stayed close, clearly unhappy about this but without much of a choice.

Starscream stared at Jack, looking him over and mentally comparing him to what he remembered of Miko's visit earlier. He couldn't help but lean forwards while Ratchet had his back turned to check the schematics of the wings he was trying to build from scratch. "You are quite different to the one who was here earlier." he commented, lifting a finger to prod at Jack.

The human dove out the way as though attacked and before Starscream could question why there was a hot blaster in his face, the whine of its charge filling the room. His optics widened and with a yelp of surprise (and perhaps some fear) he threw himself backwards away from the weapon in his face. With another yelp, he hit the floor on the other side of the berth, the wing structures half crushed beneath him.

"ARCEE!" Ratchet bellowed. "Do you know how long that took me to get right? He needed those struts!"

"Do I honestly look like I give a scrap about what he needs?" she spat back, scooping up Jack and setting him down on the floor. "I'm not letting him get close to Jack, no matter what Optimus says. Starscream's never going to change, memory loss or not."

By the time Ratchet helped Starscream up onto the berth again, she and Jack were gone, leaving Starscream with a very grouchy medic and some very bent wing structures.


	8. Medical

"So...What do you remember?" Miko asked, gazing up at Starscream. She was currently seated on the table by his bedside, arms around her knees and chin resting on those. "Like, did you remember your name or did you only know it because we know it?"

"I...think I knew it." He frowned, struggling to recall. "Yes...I'm quite sure I remembered that at least."

"How about anyone else's name?"

"No, those I don't remember." He shook his head slowly. In the background Ratchet tinkered away on a mock up of the wiring he was going to have to install in Starscream's wing soon, practising ahead of time to avoid causing the Seeker any further damage.

"Faces?" Miko asked curiously.

Starscream hesitated. Yes, there was a face he remembered. One he shuddered to think of. He couldn't help but wonder if that cruel face had something to do with the state he now found himself in.

"Starscream? Hello? Earth to Cybertron!"

The Seeker flicked his wing framework, shaking his head. "No Miko, no faces."

"Okay, what if we work at maybe showing you some stuff you should remember? What if that helps?" Miko scooted around on the table top to see Ratchet. "Would that help, Ratch?"

"The only thing that would help would be you letting me concentrate on this delicate work Miko." came the sharp snap from the grouchy medic. "Leave him be."

Miko sighed and faced the Seeker once more. "Well I think it could help."

"Since when were you a qualified medical professional?" Starscream asked, raising an optic ridge in some mild amusement.

"Since Bulkhead let me replace one of his tires." She grinned.

"Since what?!" Ratchet bellowed.

"Uh oh."

-0-

In the middle of a desert, two Seekers stood close together, one looking a little worse for wear and the other trying not to look at the fuming warlord pacing before them.

"You said it was here." Here was in the middle of a desert, nothing but sand and dirt and the occasional rock formation protruding like great fat fingers from the land. Unless the traitor had gone, literally, underground, then they were standing in the wrong place. Megatron was more inclined to believe Skywarp was just that incompetent. Seekers just didn't go underground.

"It was." Skywarp said nervously. "I felt it here for just a second or two before it vanished." He flinched as Megatron let out a snarl. "It – it's possible he's gone underground, the bond can't function through thick strata-"

"I don't care if it can't function; make it work!" he roared. "That traitor has survived for too long already, the Autobots must know everything he knows!" Why they hadn't used such information to their advantage already he didn't know but he wasn't taking chances. Soundwave was currently working on changing all the codes used on ship and encrypting their data all over again. Until everything was safe again, Soundwave would remain sitting plugged into the systems.

Thundercracker spoke up. "Then why-"

"What does it matter? What matters is finding him." With all this pacing, Megatron was likely to wear a trench in the rock where he walked. "You two, neither of you will return to the Nemesis until you have him in your custody, or at least have his location. Is that clear?"

"What about energon?" Skywarp protested. "We need to refuel!"

"Then it's a good thing you were Energon Seekers, isn't it?" Megatron growled. "Now get to work."

Thundercracker elbowed Skywarp before he could say something that would get them both killed and nodded. "Yes Lord Megatron, we'll find him," he promised.

Megatron transformed and departed then, leaving them to their task. If they came back empty handed then he'd crush their spark chambers for it. He was sick of slagging Seekers and their failure to do as ordered.

-0-

The next time Miko visited, Starscream was lying on his front as Ratchet worked on his wings, this time from a seat beside the berth. Ratchet's attention was focused on a section of it in his hands, one of his optics telescoping down to get a better look at the delicate parts. Miko had no clue what it was; she'd never really picked up on what bits went where on Bulkhead, let alone Starscream. Still, she wasn't going to let a chance to find out more about the deadly seeker go to waste. She clambered up the ladder on the little table beside the berth, dropped her school bag to one side and then dropped herself into a seat.

Starsceam's helm had been resting on his arms crossed before him, optics shuttered as he let Ratchet work in silence. He'd been struggling to remember things again, gaining only frustration and a slight processor ache in the process. He wasn't going to tell Ratchet that, he'd just get a biting reply for his troubles. When his sensors picked up the approach of the small human, he turned his helm and cracked open an optic to see what she was getting up to. She was without her burly bodyguard so he assumed she must have given Breakdown or Bulkdown or Stupid-Slag-Head, whatever his name was, the slip to come visit.

"Hey sleepyhead, all tired out with all the fixing?" Miko teased with a grin. "Or did Ratchet bother you all night?"

Ratchet scoffed before Starscream could reply. "Miko, where's Bulkhead? You should be bothering him, not my patient."

"Bulkhead's on patrol duty with Arcee, Bee drove us all back." Miko wriggled around in the plastic chair, trying to get comfortable. "Jack and Raf are playing games and I didn't feel like faking another loss to make Jack feel better about Sierra turning him down again. Optimus is being Primely somewhere." She shrugged. "So I came here! And I got all sorts of questions for the patient!"

Starscream bared his denta in a grimace, hardly in the mood for incessant questions but the small human was already grabbing her bag and tugging free the organic equivalent to a datapad, Starscream couldn't recall its name. "Must we?"

"I'm just trying to help." Miko said innocently. "And it's not every day you get to ask an amnesiac Starscream anything."

Ratchet let out a sigh through his vents and simply soldiered on with his work, deciding to ignore them from this point onwards.

Reluctantly, Starscream gave his permission. "I don't know what you hope to accomplish, but fine. It might make this cycle a little less monotonous."

"Great!" Miko settled down in her chair and opened her notebook – ah yes, that was the name. "Okay, so, I thought maybe just trying to get you remembering some important things would be good. I asked Bulkhead and he said that flyers and Seekers really need to fly. So maybe if you try to remember what it's like to fly and maybe some place you used to love flying over, you can remember other things, like flying with bots."

There was a pause and Ratchet lifted his helm to look at Miko. "You know, that's not the worst idea I've heard from you," he said grudgingly

As Miko preened at the compliment to her intelligence, Starscream was quiet, lost in thought. It came to him then and he wondered how he could have possibly forgotten. "Vos." he said softly.

"What now?" Miko asked, attention back on the Seeker now.

"Vos, it is – was - the main city state for Seeker frame types on Cyberton." Ratchet explained.

"Was? What happened to it?"

"The same as every other city. It was destroyed when the war came to it." Ratchet glanced at Starscream, expecting some kind of reaction or angry tirade from the Seeker. What he got was a Seeker frowning at the floor. "Starscream? What do you remember of Vos?"

"Hm? Oh..." He looked up, looking to Miko. "I remember the wind currents between the towers. The higher you flew, the stronger they were, but between the closest towers and spires was where the true challenge lay. If you weren't skilled enough to fly with them or against them, then you'd be dashed to pieces on the spires themselves."

"Wow, that sounds awesome." Miko grinned, already imagining it.

"It sounds dangerous," Ratchet muttered and tweaked a wire.

"The spires themselves were tall enough to reach the sky, almost to the stars themselves." Starscream recalled, optics distant as he lost himself in memory. "They were all sleek and gleaming, and between the levels there were landing pads jutting out into the sky to land on. Each one was home to thousands of flyers...The skies would be filled with them. And between the buildings were lights, floating lights. They ran off the air currents, amazing little things-" He twitched when Ratchet touched something in his back and hissed. "Careful! Don't weld the framework to my spinal strut!"

Ratchet looked up, frowning. "Starscream I haven't been welding your framework for days."

"...Oh." Starscream looked over his shoulder at the medic. "I...must have forgotten. Hm." He wasn't too worried by it; he never really cared to know what medics were doing to him so long as they did it right and it didn't hurt., though he couldn't recall visiting a medic before now. He turned back to Miko, focusing on her once more. "What was I saying?"

"You were talking about Vos?" Miko said, glancing at the medic who was looking a little concerned.

"Ah yes. The spires of Vos," Starscream hummed to himself. "They were so tall that if you stood at the bottom and looked up, you'd be unable to see without assistance. The air currents between them were the true gem of Vos, the best challenge for a flyer-"

"Wait, you said that already," the human crossed her arms. "About the currents and spires and the lights."

"...No I didn't." Starscream scowled. "I'd remember!"

"She's right Starscream, you did say that." Ratchet set down his tools and moved around to the front of the berth, examining the Seeker. "Hm...your optics are flickering. I want to run a quick processor scan, hold still."

"What? Why?" Starscream scowled and batted away Ratchet's hand as he reached for the Seeker. "I'm perfectly fine!"

"Starscream, you're displaying signs of short term memory loss on top of everything else that's wrong with your processor. For the love of the Allspark, just let me scan you." Ratchet glared at him and at last the Seeker acquiesced, holding out his arm for the medic to plug in. Ratchet didn't waste any more time and plugged in.

The mess he found inside Starscream's systems made him wish he'd noticed sooner.


End file.
